IPPNW to Prime Minister Abe: “Cancel Rokkasho”
The Rokkasho nuclear reprocessing plant, when operating at full capacity, could produce nine tons of weapons-grade plutonium per year, enough for 1,000 or more nuclear weapons.
IPPNW’s co-presidents have sent the following letter to the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, urging him to halt plans for nuclear fuel reprocessing, calling the program “unnecessary and hazardous” and “not consistent with Japan’s stated support for achieving a world freed from nuclear weapons.”
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September 23, 2013
Your Excellency,
We write on behalf of physicians in 62 countries to express our concern at Japan’s intention to start commercial operation of the Rokkasho spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant next year, and to urge your government not to proceed with the operation of the Rokkasho plant. Read more…
Nuclear weapons are decreasing in numbers, but not on their way out
Global nuclear arsenals, 2013. Table by Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris, Federation of American Scientists.
About 125,000 nuclear warheads have been built in the world. Is there a better proof of how little wisdom there is in the running of the world? Today about 17,000 remain. That gives a picture that the nukes are on their way out. Unfortunately not. All nuclear weapon states are modernizing their nukes, spending large sums of money. Read more…
The apparent employment of chemical weapons in Syria should remind us that, while weapons of mass destruction exist, there is a serious danger that they will be used.
That danger is highlighted by an article in the September/October 2013 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Written by two leading nuclear weapons specialists, Hans Kristensen and Robert Norris of the Federation of American Scientists, the article provides important information about nuclear weapons that should alarm everyone concerned about the future of the planet. Read more…
World’s doctors: “Let us treat patients in Syria”
[IPPNW Co-Presidents Ira Helfand, Robert Mtonga, and Tilman Ruff, former Co-President Sergey Kolesnikov, and a number of affiliate leaders have signed the following call for medical neutrality in Syria. Updates about the appeal can be followed on Twitter at #Doctors4Syria. The same hashtag can be used to comment on the appeal and to forward it to others.]
The conflict in Syria has led to what is arguably one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since the end of the Cold War. An estimated 100,000 people have been killed[1] – most of them civilians – and many more have been wounded, tortured or abused. Millions have been driven from their homes; families have been divided; and entire communities torn apart. We must not let considerations of military intervention destroy our ability to focus on getting them help. Read more…
Syria today. What to do?
by Ernesto Kahan
Catherine Thomasson, MD, the Executive Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) of the USA, in a letter dated September 5, 2013 wrote “The use of chemical weapons, like any weapon of mass destruction, needs a strong response. However, the use of military force in Syria is not the answer” and added that “International action against a war criminal should be united and targeted; and justice for President Assad and his military should be delivered in the International Criminal Court.” This policy was based on the paper OP-ED: Defining Appropriate Action in Syria.
The Syrian present civil war is terrible, producing until now at least more than 110,000 killed, two million refugees, and seven millions of people in need of urgent humanitarian help. Read more…
The Syrian problem — and an international solution
Let us consider the worst: that, in violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the subsequent Chemical Weapons Convention, the Syrian government has used chemical weapons to massacre large numbers of people. If true, that is a real problem, for it is not only a dastardly act, but a clear violation of international law that, if left unopposed, will encourage further use of these abhorrent weapons.
But will the US government’s lobbing cruise missiles into Syria provide a solution to the problem? Read more…
Volcanoes and nuclear war
Rutgers climate scientist Alan Robock at the ICAN Civil Society Forum in Oslo.
Alan Robock, Distinguished Professor of Climatology at Rutgers University and a consultant with IPPNW on the climate effects of nuclear weapons, has posted an informative blog for the American Geophysical Union on the lessons of volcanoes for both global warming and the catastrophic global cooling that would result from nuclear war.
“While the world has banned cluster munitions, land mines, biological weapons, and chemical weapons,” Prof. Robock concludes, “the worst weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, are still not banned. They cannot be used, they do not serve as a deterrent, and their use would be suicide. We can rid the world of nuclear weapons so we have the luxury of working to address global warming without the fear of global catastrophe. For more information, please visit my website and join the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.”
[The IPPNW Board has issued the following statement on the tragic conflict in Syria.]
IPPNW firmly believes that chemical weapons, and any weapon of mass destruction, should never be used, and existing stockpiles should be eliminated in line with the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Chemical weapons are banned because of their capacity to cause indiscriminate deaths in large numbers, extreme suffering and long-term disability. It is essential that whatever stockpiles of chemical weapons exist in Syria are maintained in a safe condition prior to their final elimination, which should be achieved as rapidly as possible. A cessation of hostilities would provide a much more favourable context for this to happen.
We call on all parties involved in the present conflict in Syria to ensure that any existing stockpiles of chemical weapons are placed under safeguards and that there is no intentional use, or threat of use, whatever the circumstances. UN weapons inspectors must be allowed full, safe and timely access to investigate suspected chemical weapons use. If the facts determine that chemical weapons have been used, then those who used them should be brought before the International Criminal Court and held accountable for crimes against humanity.
We call on all sides to cooperate with the UN and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria in his quest to resolve the present conflict through dialogue. The present suffering of civilians in areas controlled by the government and by the opposition forces is unacceptable and a ceasefire needs to be negotiated as soon as possible.
IPPNW demands free and safe access of the population to medical care. To make medical facilities and personnel a target of violence is unacceptable and a gross violation of international humanitarian law.
We urge all parties to the civil war in Syria to engage in negotiations to resolve the conflict. We demand from all countries and parties outside Syria that they stop delivering weapons into Syria.
Clinging to mass violence
Is the human race determined to snuff itself out through mass violence? There are many signs that it is.
The most glaring indication lies in the continued popularity of war. Despite well over a hundred million deaths in World Wars I and II, plus the brutal military conflicts in Korea, Indochina, Hungary, Algeria, Lebanon, Angola, Mozambique, the Philippines, the Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, wars continue to rage across the globe, consuming vast numbers of lives and resources. In 2012, worldwide military spending reached $1.75 trillion. Moreover, the most lavish spenders for weaponry, war, and destruction were the supposedly “civilized” nations of NATO, with $1 trillion in military expenditures. By far the biggest military spender in 2012 was the United States, which accounted for 39 percent of the world total. Read more…
Dr. Omolade Oladejo, IPPNW Nigeria, addresses delegates to the UN ATT 4th Prepcom, while Chairman Moritan (L) looks on.
Yesterday, on August 12th, Nigeria became the 82nd UN Member State to sign the Arms Trade Treaty, and the 3rd to ratify the landmark agreement. Foreign Minister Dr. Olugbenga Ashiru signed and deposited Nigeria’s instrument of ratification at the UN in New York. Read more…
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